During the past few months, movements such as ‘Time’s Up’ and ‘Me Too’ have made headlines almost on a weekly basis. And because of them, the global entertainment industry is now going through a profound change.

However, gender stereotypes are still predominant in advertising. Last year, a critical analysis of more than 2,000 ads from the Cannes Lions archive revealed that women are 48% more likely to appear in kitchens, while men are 50% more likely to be shown at sporting events.

It’s hard to believe that something like this still happens in our days, but the truth is that even in industries thought to be liberal and progressive as ours, gender equality is still something we can only wish for.

At Missouri, we believe in the potential of brands to help raise awareness for, and advance the gender equality cause. When done right, we see brands being powerful allies in women’s fight for change – campaigns such as ‘This Girl Can’, and last year’s ‘Fearless Girl’ statue in Wall Street are prime examples of that.

Last week was International Women’s Day, and around the world brands have come out to support women’s fight for equality with campaigns that celebrate them and help to raise awareness to their cause. To pay homage to that, we are sharing here what we think were the best IWD-related campaigns this year:

McDonald’s

Image by McDonald’s

A McDonald’s restaurant in California has turned the brand’s iconic golden arches sign upside down in honour of International Women’s Day. In addition to that, a series of other restaurants across the US have offered special IWD-themed packaging, crew shirts, hats and bag stuffers.

Budweiser

Image by Budweiser

This is an interesting, and refreshing move from Budweiser. The beer category has historically been dominated my men – both from a consumer and producer viewpoint. However, starting from International Women’s Day 2018 through the rest of the month, Budweiser will honour its female employees with a series of photons on their social media channels.

We think this campaign is especially interesting because it lets Budweiser to lead by example – bringing to the spotlight its female workforce in a time when gender equality in the workplace has become a very contentious issue.

Vodafone

Image by Vodafone

In Vodafone’s latest campaign, part of a series of initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality, young girls dressed as as grown up professionals – politicians, film directors and airline pilots – question gender stereotypes by posing viewers with questions such as “Why are almost all superheroes men”, “Why have there been so many male presidents, but so few women?”, and “Why do I only get to the be the love interest?”.